Do I Need to Pay Tax on my Cryptoassets?

Yes - in the UK cryptoassets are taxable

Back in 2014, HMRC stated in their tax guidance for cryptoassets that “a transaction may be so highly speculative that it is not taxable or any losses relievable”. This was interpreted as comparing cryptoasset trading to gambling for tax purposes and led to taxpayers concluding that gains were not taxable.

In December 2018, as cryptoassets had become much more widely used and accepted throughout the UK, and clarified the position in their guidance.

HMRC have now clearly stated that they do not consider the buying and selling of cryptoassets the same as gambling, meaning that gains are taxable and most likely subject to capital gains tax.

This guide only considers the taxation of exchange tokens (like Bitcoin) and does not specifically consider utility or security tokens. HMRC indicate a different tax treatment may need to be adopted for utility and security tokens, but they have not provided any guidance in this regard to date.

Types of Cryptocurrency Activity

Click next to see which taxes apply for different types of cryptocurrency activity...